With the advancement of circuit board assembly has come a technique known as surface-mount technology, which consists in the mounting of electronic circuit components and their electrical connections on the surface of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB), rather than through holes. The PCB itself is a flat board whose front contains slots for integrated circuit chips and connections for a variety of electrical components, and whose back is printed with electrically conductive pathways between the components. An example of such an electrical component is the electrical connector which, when mounted on the PCB, creates an interface between discrete wires and the PCB. Automation of the circuit board assembly process typically involves the use of automated pick-and-place machinery for placement of the electrical components onto the PCB.
Existing surface-mount electrical components, such as the electrical connector, are anchored to the PCB by the soldering of their electrical pins to the PCB, where these pins also provide points of electrical contact between the component and the PCB. However, these components often need additional means of mechanical fastening in order to restrict the movement of the components on the PCB, as excessive movement produces undesirable stresses on the electrical pin solder-joints.
Unfortunately, the anchoring systems currently used to fasten surface-mount electrical components to circuit boards have important disadvantages. In the case of metal or plastic clips, excessively high insertion forces are required from the pick-and-place machines in an automated assembly, and access to the opposite side of the PCB may require drilling of the PCB. In the case of threaded fasteners, automation of the assembly is rendered very difficult.
The background information herein clearly shows that there exists a need in the industry to provide an improved method for anchoring surface-mount electrical components to a circuit board.